Motivation Series | Introduction
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
—Will Durant (summarizing Aristotle)
I started lifting weights in the early years of YouTube. Back then, fitness content wasn’t polished or algorithm-optimized—it was gritty, grainy clips of basement gyms, iron slamming, and voices yelling “lightweight baby!” over dramatic movie scores.
Those early motivational videos were fuel. I’d watch some dude deadlifting in a garage with a cracked mirror and be ready to run through a wall. They felt powerful—and they worked… for a little while.
But here’s the thing: motivation was what got me started. It wasn’t what kept me going.
And lately, I’ve had more than a few conversations with people stuck in that exact same loop.
“I just need to get motivated again.”
“I know what to do, I just need to make myself do it.”
“It worked before when I did XYZ, so I just have to do that again.”
These are clues—breadcrumbs that lead to something deeper. Because most of the time, it’s not motivation that’s missing—it’s something underneath. That’s what this series is here to explore.
So… What Is Motivation, Really?
Motivation isn’t just a magical feeling that shows up when the stars align and your coffee kicks in. Psychologically speaking, motivation is the internal process that initiates, guides, and sustains goal-oriented behaviors. But as authors like James Clear (Atomic Habits) and BJ Fogg (Tiny Habits) point out:
Motivation is unreliable as a strategy.
It comes and goes. It fluctuates with sleep, stress, weather, and even whether or not you’ve eaten lunch.
What matters more is your environment, your system, and the small, meaningful behaviors you repeat—especially when you don’t feel like it.
And that’s where Motivational Interviewing (MI) really shines. MI doesn’t assume people are lazy or broken. It assumes people are capable of change, and that the desire to change already exists inside them—it just needs to be uncovered, aligned, and supported.
The Four Hidden Reasons You Think You Lack Motivation
Here’s where things get juicy—and personal. When you say, “I’m not feeling motivated,” what you’re often really feeling is a lack of one of these four:
- Lost – You don’t know where to place your attention. You’re pulled in too many directions.
- Flat – You’ve lost your sense of intensity or challenge. Everything feels “meh.”
- Stalled – You’ve stopped seeing progress, and with it, momentum.
- Swerving – You forgot what matters most. You’re stuck in busywork, not purpose.
I built a simple visual (scroll back if you missed it!) to help you diagnose what’s really going on beneath the surface. And over the next few posts, we’re going to unpack each quadrant.
In each quadrant, we’re naming a common experience—like feeling stalled, feeling pulled between a million things (swerving), or not even being sure what the next step is (lost).
But the key is what lies underneath. Each of those experiences is actually a signal—and the quadrant points us toward what’s needed, and how to get there.
Because motivation isn’t a battery that drains—it’s a system that needs tuning.
This Series Is For You If…
- You’ve ever thought, “Why can’t I just get myself to do the thing I said I’d do?”
- You’re tired of starting strong and fizzling out.
- You’re doing “okay,” but something still feels off.
- You’re a coach, leader, or mentor trying to help others stay on track.
- You’ve been white-knuckling your way through discipline and wondering why it’s not sticking.
In this series, we’ll explore the practical, behavioral, and very human reasons why motivation goes missing—and how to get back into motion without relying on hype, hustle, or shame.
What to Expect Next
Over the next few weeks, we’ll dig into:
- Part 1: Lost or Just Lacking Direction?
- Part 2: Feeling Flat? You Need a Spark
- Part 3: Stalled or Spinning Wheels? You Need Momentum.
- Part 4: Swerving? You Need the Essentials
- Finale: The Myth of Motivation & How to Build Something Better
Each post will give you:
- A clear explanation of the hidden friction.
- Real coaching questions to ask yourself.
- Small, do-able practices to get back in motion.
Before We Go—One Thought to Sit With
In The War of Art, Steven Pressfield writes:
“Resistance will tell you anything to keep you from doing your work. It will perjure, fabricate; it will seduce you. Resistance is always lying and always full of [crap].”
Sometimes, the voice in your head that says “you’re not motivated” is just Resistance in disguise.
Sometimes you’re not unmotivated—you’re unclear, tired, overstimulated, or underwhelmed.
And the good news?
All of those can be addressed.
Let’s stop chasing motivation and start rebuilding the systems and stories that keep us in motion. See you in Part 1.